


The Twilight Ed Review

by Punland



Category: Ed Edd n Eddy
Genre: Commentary, Critique, Dark fic, Meta, Scary Spikender, Twilight Zone - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:54:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27015319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punland/pseuds/Punland
Summary: A review of "The Twilight Ed" by Scary Spikender. I first read the fanfic years ago, back when the original was still up, but I never wrote a proper review for it. So I figured, better late than never!
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	The Twilight Ed Review

And now let us look at another dark and gruesome story by the great Scary Spikender: The Twilight Ed! As you can probably guess from the title, this is a fanfic combining _Ed Edd n’ Eddy_ and _The Twilight Zone_. As far as crossovers go, this is one particular combination I would’ve never thought to put together. After all, one is a classic television show about strange, surreal happenings in quiet American suburbia — and the other is _The Twilight Zone_. Bait-and-switch jokes aside, though, these two shows couldn’t be any more different. But when you stop and think about it, as slapsticky and cartoonish and nonsensical as _Ed Edd n’ Eddy_ is, it does lend itself nicely to some darker contexts — just look at the purgatory theory. Even episodes like “Sorry, Wrong Ed” or “Hand Me Down Ed” almost feel like over-the-top _TZ_ episodes. Hell, there’s something inherently creepy and Twilight Zone-y about a bunch of kids living in a world that’s apparently stuck in perpetual summer, with no other people to be seen anywhere. It’s even creepier if you watch the school episodes, where they literally wander around empty classrooms and hallways (maybe they really are in purgatory!)

Being a big fan of both shows, naturally I was excited to check out this crossover, and fortunately it did not disappoint! Unfortunately, though, it was never finished, which is a real shame. We got six creepy stories about all the cul-de-sac kids, but none for the Eds and Kankers. I can only imagine what sorts of twisted, uncanny adventures would’ve been in store for them (maybe something revolving around Eddy’s scams? After all, the original _Twilight Zone_ had plenty of episodes about peddlers and conmen. And given Ed’s fascination with aliens, monsters, and other sci-fi creatures, the possibilities were endless. Hell, I can even see a parody of the classic “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?” where Double D finally takes off his hat, revealing a third eye.) Sadly, we’ll never know what could’ve been, because the story’s creator has vanished into the Twilight Zone (you can read a re-upload of the story here: [https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13180098/1/The-Twilight-Ed](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13180098/1/The-Twilight-Ed). I suggest you do this before reading on, as there will be major spoilers from here on out!)

But without further ado, let us journey into The Twilight Ed! 

Our journey begins with “Jimmy: The Other Me.” According to an author’s note, this chapter was actually based on a real _TZ_ episode. Although it doesn’t specify which one, it’s pretty obvious that the inspiration was “Mirror Image.” Said episode revolves around a young woman who is slowly driven to insanity when she encounters a doppelgänger of herself while waiting at a bus station. In “The Other Me”, Jimmy is framed for a bunch of bad things he didn’t do, each one progressively worse. Who’s framing him? Why, himself of course! Except not really. One thing I feel “The Other Me” actually does better than the episode it’s (loosely) based on is keeping us on our toes. Although we know right away something’s going on, it doesn’t become clear exactly _what_ that something is until later into the story (although, TBH, the title kind of gives it away.) I love the suspense in the story, and I like that we don’t actually get to see the doppelgänger, at least until near the end, and only a glimpse at that.

Something else I really appreciate is how well this fanfic captures the tone and feel of both of these shows. Each chapter is written like an actual _TZ_ episode, complete with the Rod Serling narrations at the beginning and end. The opening of Jimmy staring at himself in the mirror, although simple, effectively foreshadows what’s to come. Later, Jimmy stares into what he believes is his mirror, only to realize it’s his closet, and it’s a wonderfully chilling moment. I also love the slow build-up toward the final, horrifying reveal before the chapter ends. There’s not much else to say about this one, really. It’s suspenseful, well-paced, creepy, and a strong entry point into the series. 

Moving right along, next we have “Sarah: Truthseeker.” Sarah finds an old tape recorder that reveals some shocking and rather disturbing secrets about the other residents of the cul-de-sac … but are those secrets actually true? 

This is hands-down my favourite chapter in the whole fanfic. First of all, the concept is brilliant. There’s just something inherently creepy about old tape recorders, and I literally got chills when Sarah pressed the button on the recorder for the first time, and all she hears is crackling static, only for a mysterious voice to start speaking about someone she knows. The atmosphere is quietly eerie, and there’s a real sense of foreboding throughout. Even though this is arguably the least morbid and disturbing chapter in the series (at least overtly), for some reason this was the one that unsettled me the most. Maybe it’s the fact that old technology creeps me out, but something about it gave me the heebie-jeebies. 

But that’s not the only reason I love this one so much. _The Twilight Zone_ was a master in storytelling (in fact, it was actually how I learned about plot structure, thanks to my English teachers who would play episodes in class) and it’s obvious that Scary Spikender picked up on those skills, because the storytelling in “Truthseeker” is absolutely brilliant. Everything just flows so perfectly, and the plot is beautifully suspenseful and intriguing; it really kept me on the edge of my seat, and I had no idea where the story was going to go next. The stakes kept gradually getting higher as the tape revealed more secrets; it starts out fairly innocent and harmless, with the tape claiming that Jimmy doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom, and that Nazz likes Ed. But then things start to get dark: according to the tape, Rolf sacrifices his chickens as part of some religious offering (poor chickens, they really don’t get a fair shake in this series, as we’ll see when we get to Rolf’s chapter). And then we get the real bombshell: Edd and Eddy murdered the Kankers and buried them in the junkyard. I love the progression of the secrets, how we go from crushes and unwashed hands to killing—first animals, then people, and not just any people: people Sarah knows. Of course, all these “secrets” are revealed at exactly the right times, when Sarah just so happens to catch the subjects doing things that apparently confirm the tape’s confessions. A bit contrived, perhaps, but it works. 

And then there’s the ending. Holy mother of plot twists. _The Twilight Zone_ is (in)famous for its surprise endings, and _man_ was this a good one. The story delays the reveal until the very last moment, and it really packs a punch. I guess you could argue the ending doesn’t really make much sense if you start to unravel it (when did Sarah make the recordings, for starters?) but hey, it’s the Twilight Zone, and a lot of things in the original show didn’t make a lot of sense either, and the twist is so damn good that I’m willing to let that slide. If I do have to nitpick one thing, though, it’s the fact that Rolf buried his chickens in the junkyard. I get that there had to be a logical explanation for everything, but that felt a little far-fetched. First of all, don’t the kids usually avoid going near the trailer park? Also, since Rolf lives on a farm, why would he go all the way to the junkyard when he could have easily buried them at home? (Again, not to jump too far ahead, but there’s plenty of room in his spacious farm to bury animals — and people.)

But aside from that minor nitpick, the story is pretty much flawless, and I could easily see it as a real _TZ_ episode. 

Next up is “Jonny: Snatcher.” I was curious about this chapter, because I was sure it would involve Plank, who — let’s be honest — _is_ kind of creepy, with that eerie smile of his, not to mention the fact that he was implied to be alive several times in the show. So I was intrigued to see what Scary Spikender was going to do with Jonny and his imaginary(?) friend as they took a trip to the dimension of sight, sound and mind. In this instalment, Jonny comes across a body-snatcher who accidentally takes possession of Plank’s body, which leads to chaos. I have to say, one of the things I love about this fanfic is the chapter titles. Each title is well-chosen and fits the story perfectly, and this one is no exception. It’s an intriguing title that perfectly captures the essence of the story, without giving too much away. 

Unfortunately, that’s one of the few good things I can say about “Snatcher”, because out of all the chapters, this one was definitely the weakest. There are some good ideas here, but the story has so many plot holes and inconsistencies that it completely falls apart. For starters, when the body-snatcher first sees Kevin through the window he acts surprised, like he’s seeing him for the first time. But wouldn’t he already know about Kevin? After all, he already knew Jonny’s name and pretty much everything about him right away. This begs the question of how the body-snatcher ended up stuck in the pipe in the first place; he claims he didn’t know about the creature’s extreme sensitivity to light, but how is this possible? First of all, if he (presumably) already knows everything about everyone he comes across, then wouldn’t he already be aware of this? Second of all, you don’t have to be all-knowing to realize that a creature living inside a pipe is probably someone you don’t want to switch bodies with. I also have a problem with the fact that when the body-snatcher switches bodies with Plank (to avoid confusion between the real Plank and the fake Plank, I’ll mostly refer to the body-snatcher as Evil Plank from now on), it’s clearly an accident, which implies some sort of Midas curse where he just automatically switches bodies with anyone who touches him. But Jonny touches Evil Plank the whole time and nothing happens! You can’t have it both ways. Either he can control his powers or he can’t. And this leads me to the story’s biggest problem: _why didn’t Evil Plank switch bodies with Jonny?_ After all, he had plenty of opportunity to do so. Why would he go to all this trouble when he had a simple solution all this time? Jonny asks him this point blank, and Evil Plank responds that he wanted access to better options from other members in the cul-de-sac. But I just don’t understand the logic here. First of all, the body-snatcher clearly wanted to get into Jonny’s body when they first met (why else would he ask Jonny to touch his hand?) And even if he did have a man-crush on Kevin’s bod, wouldn’t it be _much_ easier to get access to it through Jonny, a real, walking person who can move and interact with people, as opposed to a wooden board, who has very limited movement, can only communicate with one person, and has to rely on said person to get him around? Incidentally, why _did_ Evil Plank depend on Jonny all the time, when we clearly see that he’s able to move on his own? He literally points this out: “Forget it then, Jonny, I’ll do it myself. I don’t know why I’ve been relying on you so much when I could make this all so much faster and easier.” You know it’s bad when your own characters are pointing out your plot holes. And the ending doesn’t make any sense either! So Plank is a body-snatcher too? Did I miss something? I’m so confused! 

Okay, so I know I’ve been pretty harsh on this one, but to be fair, there were some things I liked. I liked how Plank and Evil Plank’s spoken lines were written differently, with Evil Plank speaking normally, but the real Plank’s dialogue being kept a mystery to the reader. I thought this was a clever way to distinguish between the two, while also keeping that layer of mystery that made Plank’s character so intriguing — also, although we never know exactly what Plank is saying, the gist of it is always clear, mostly thanks to Jonny’s responses. I liked the sudden realization of horror Jonny has when it finally dawns on him that Evil Plank isn’t Plank, and the subsequent climax where Jonny fights and literally destroys Evil Plank is intense and well-written. I also enjoyed the scene where Jonny first meets the body-snatcher; it’s a wonderfully sinister scene and does a great job building the creepiness factor (Plank’s eagerness for Jonny to approach the pipe makes me wonder if he knew more than he was letting on, which would at least partially explain the ending.) And despite the chapter’s many flaws, there is a skeleton of a good story here. But as it stands, this chapter is a mess and definitely could’ve used a second draft.

Our next stop is “Nazz: Hollow.” In this chapter, Nazz wakes up one morning to find the entire cul-de-sac deserted. It’s interesting that according to the author, only the first chapter was inspired by an actual _TZ_ episode, because to me, “Hollow” seems to have borrowed most heavily from the original series. The most obvious parallel is “Stopover in a Quiet Town” (which, incidentally, isn’t one of my personal favourites, but I won’t get into that). However, there were other episode vibes I got from this one as well — “The Shelter”, “Five Characters in Search of an Exit”, even the series pilot “Where Is Everybody?” (Nazz literally says this line verbatim, which makes me wonder if it was an intentional callback to the episode that started it all). 

It’s also interesting that Scary Spikender chose Nazz’s maturity as the basis for this chapter, which was more a defining characteristic of Edd than Nazz (unless you count that episode where she was hired to babysit Eddy.) To be honest, Nazz is such a vanilla character that it’s kind of hard to make her interesting, especially since a chunk of this chapter is her being alone without any other characters to play off of. But to be fair, many, if not most of the episodes of _The Twilight Zone_ were about average people thrown into situations that were anything but average, so it actually works quite well to have a more relatable character in the spotlight.

The _Toy Story_ twist in this is great. I know I’m jumping ahead to the ending, but it’s probably my favourite part of the story. Even though, like I said, it’s very similar to the ending in that _TZ_ episode, it’s still a good, dark twist that’s well-foreshadowed and brings the story full-circle. Also, Sarah is _evil_. I know she was always evil, but she really is a monster — and so is Jimmy, for that matter. There’s a real sense of distress and claustrophobia throughout this chapter, as we really feel like Nazz and the other cul-de-sac kids are trapped in a pretty nightmarish situation with no way out. I also liked the part where the Kankers go into the real cul-de-sac to collect their money, only to find their three victims completely unresponsive, especially since it’s juxtaposed with Nazz trying to warn the Kankers, but not being able to find them. It’s a great moment of confusion, and it’s the moment where we finally realize that wherever Nazz and these kids are, it’s not the cul-de-sac. Although I was left with many questions about the mechanics of Sarah’s dollhouse, and how exactly she got a hold of these dolls, I think some things are better left to the imagination, and I like how the story leaves that layer of mystery open. 

I don’t have any major complaints with this one, just two nitpicks. First, I found it hard to believe that neither Nazz, Kevin, nor Rolf had $5 on them to pay off the Kankers. Don’t these kids get allowances? How else do they afford to pay for all of the Eds’ scams? Second, it’s a bit odd that there was no mention of the kids’ parents at any point in the story, considering the plot revolves around people in the cul-de-sac mysteriously going missing. I get that the kids’ parents were never (fully) shown in Ed Edd n’ Eddy, but they act as if their parents don’t even exist (except for the very end when Ed uses parental threat against Sarah, a great role reversal). I feel like Nazz would’ve at least tried to call her parents once she realized something was horribly wrong, since that’s what a normal person would do in a situation like this. Like I said, just a minor nitpick, but it was a bit distracting. 

And… that’s all I have to say about this one. It’s a perfectly fine, middle-of-the-road entry, but like its _TZ_ parallel, didn’t really leave a strong impression on me. I think the title of this chapter actually sums up my feelings about it perfectly: it’s pretty good overall, but it feels a bit hollow. 

Now we come to what is perhaps the most gruesome chapter in this fanfic, “Rolf: With Tooth and Claw.” I feel like this chapter was inspired by “Animal Farm”, though I must shamefully confess I’ve never read the novel, so I could be totally wrong. Either way, this is a dark and twisted narrative, that really pushes beyond the limits of how messed up the original _Twilight Zone_ was. I mean, yeah, obviously the series had its fair share of macabre episodes, but even then it wasn’t _this_ gory. 

In this chapter, Rolf is holding an Urban Rangers meeting. Suddenly the meeting is disrupted when Victor and Wilfred start misbehaving and digging up Rolf’s garden. Furious, Rolf disciplines them with the “Paddle of Punishment.” Jonny and Jimmy think this punishment is a little too severe, but Rolf ignores their concerns. Then, things start to get weird. Someone keeps planting traps clearly designed to hurt Rolf, but who? Soon Rolf gets his answer when he hears unfamiliar voices coming from his shed, and it’s at this point when we finally arrive at the Twilight Zone portion of the story. Turns out Rolf’s animals are fed up with all the abuse, and are planning to make their master eat dirt — literally. What follows is the most disturbing scene in this whole fanfic, and what can only be described as pure nightmare fuel. Rolf literally goes ax-crazy and brutally murders his animals, turning his shed into a slaughterhouse with more bloodshed than a Tarantino movie. I never would’ve expected a story about the loveable and eccentric blue-haired foreigner to take such a dark turn, but I gotta hand it to Spikender. He goes all the way. He takes full advantage of the fanfic’s T rating and does not attempt to scale back on the gore.

And we have to talk about the ending. None of the chapters in this series end happily, but this ending may be the most horrifying one of them all. After all, there are few fates worse than being buried alive, and poor Rolf will learn this the hard way. It’s a bone-chilling ending that goes full _Twilight Zone_ and beyond with its darkness. I also liked the little callback to the “Expert Animal Grooming Badge” mentioned earlier in the chapter, with Victor and Wilfred giving each other a high five. Though I do have to admit, as dark as the ending was, that part made me chuckle a bit. Partly because it’s such an amusing image, partly because it made me think of _Pearls Before Swine_ (speaking of dark humour!) My only comfort is knowing that no actual chickens were harmed in the making of this fic. 

And last but not least: “Kevin: Blowback”, in which the tables turn on Kevin — both figuratively and literally. When I read this chapter, I was reminded of why I loved Scary Spikender’s other brilliant fanfic, “Forfeit”, so much: it’s a slow burn towards a big payoff. This is the longest chapter in the whole series, and appropriately so. This is the kind of story that demands slower pacing, and I’m so glad Spikender didn’t compromise on this regard. The build-up and tension in this chapter is fantastic; the story takes its time to unfold and never feels rushed. We can _feel_ Kevin’s anger gradually getting more and more unstable, we feel him slowly beginning to crack, until he finally snaps and hurts the one person he cared about the most. Oh man, poor Nazz. Although she clearly means well when she encourages Kevin to try anger management for a week, her good intentions backfire catastrophically. The final cruel twist is a punch to the gut, and it was sweet to see how much she cared about Kevin, that despite how badly he hurt her, she was still willing to forgive him. 

It’s interesting that Kevin and Rolf’s chapters are placed back-to-back, because if you think about it, they are kind of similar thematically: both Kevin and Rolf inflict violence on seemingly defenceless targets, only to have said targets turn on them, as we see in the final showdown between Kevin and his house. And let’s talk about that showdown, because oh man is it worth all the build-up! This whole scene — especially the part with the electric razor — reminded me of “A Thing About Machines”, which also deals with a rather short-tempered guy who becomes the fatal victim of his household appliances (again, I’m a bit skeptical of the author’s claim that only the first chapter was directly inspired by an actual _TZ_ episode, but whatever). The sheer horror of the scene is outmatched only by its very vivid descriptions. I loved that moment when Kevin feels like there’s a million eyes in the house watching him; it’s so sinister and gave me the chills. And while I love that the supernatural element comes out of nowhere and thus takes us completely by surprise, I wonder if there could’ve been a _bit_ more foreshadowing throughout the course of the story leading up to that point (maybe Kevin starts to feel tremors in the walls or something subtle like that). 

As near-flawless as this chapter is, there are a few small wrinkles that hold it back from perfection. My first gripe is, oddly enough, with the swearing. I don’t mean that there’s too much of it — in fact, it’s kind of the opposite problem. Bear with me here. For whatever reason, Scary Spikender has an aversion to the word “damn.” I noticed this throughout the whole fanfic, but it’s _especially_ obvious here. He instead uses “dang” or “darn”, which just doesn’t have the same punch. For instance, in the most intense scene in the chapter, Kevin yells “darn you!” when his only hope of salvation is literally flushed down the toilet, which kind of took me out of the moment because it felt so censored and out-of-character. It’s strange, because the author has no problem with the word “crap” (the characters say it all the time), and Rolf literally says “hell” in the previous chapter (and not in a casual way either), but for some reason “damn” is where he draws the line. 

My other petty complaint, if you can even call it that, is at the very beginning. During the water balloon incident, Scary Spikender makes a point to mention the other students in the school and … I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I understand why he did this. Embarrassing yourself in front of a few kids you know doesn’t have quite the same effect as embarrassing yourself in front of the whole school. On the other hand … I can’t help feeling like this breaks one of the show’s unwritten rules, to never show any characters outside of the main cast (with obvious exceptions, like the Big Picture Show). Not to mention that these other students are never mentioned or seen again, not even in the lunchroom or gym scenes, so it’s a bit weird that they just completely disappear from the story. Still, it’s only a few passing mentions, and none of the other students speak or interact with any of the main characters, so it’s not too distracting. Other than that, this chapter is phenomenal, and if this is where our journey has to end, I’m glad this is the one we get to go out on. 

And there you have it! It’s truly a shame Scary Spikender never finished this story, because it really is excellent. It’s well-written, creative, dark, and a fantastic way to honour the legacy of one of the best cartoons to air on Cartoon Network, as well as a classic sci-fi series that forever changed television. 

According to the original summary, there were still seven more chapters to go. Considering there’s only twelve main characters in the show (not counting Plank), it does make me wonder who the thirteenth chapter would’ve focused on (Eddy’s brother? The entire cul-de-sac? We’ll never know.) Although we never got those last seven chapters, I am still thankful for the six that we got. And who knows? Maybe Scary Spikender will miraculously return someday and give us those seven chapters we’ve been craving. After all, anything can happen… in the Twilight Zone. 


End file.
